How big is the divide between Israeli and American Jews?

According to election-night polling, Vice President Kamala Harris won an impressive share of the Jewish American vote. The highest quality poll reported 71% support for Harris and 26% support for former president (and now President-Elect) Donald J. Trump. Surveys of Israeli Jews, meanwhile, suggested an opposite set of preferences. Asked which candidate would better serve Israel’s interests, 13% identified Harris compared to 66% who named Trump.

The political divide between Israeli Jews and American Jews has become huge, but what does it mean? Have Israeli Jews become immune to the threats to democracy that alarm many American Jews? Have American Jews become indifferent to the security needs of Israel? Before recriminations, it’s important to understand what the election meant for each side of the Jewish divide.

Israeli Jews appreciated Trump’s vocal support for Israeli government priorities during his first term, particularly recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, scrapping the Iran nuclear deal, and recognizing the Golan Heights as part of sovereign Israel. Trump won over the Israeli right by his support for the eventual annexation of parts of the West Bank in the “Deal of the Century,” and ending the US practice of describing all settlements as illegal.

Yet, last December, several months into the war, Jewish Israelis preferred Biden over Trump by a significant margin. Biden visited Israel immediately following October 7, warned Iranians and Hezbollah against attacking (the famous “Don’t”) and rushed military aid as the war unfolded. He also repeatedly moved US aircraft carrier groups into the region and eventually engaged in joint defense maneuvers with Israel for the first time in history.

Israelis’ preference for the Democratic president who came to their aid began eroding in the spring and summer, as Biden ramped up criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war, particularly concerning humanitarian aid for Gazans and the need for a deal to return the hostages.

But Jewish Israelis’ decisive turn toward Trump happened only after Biden stepped out of the race. Israelis noted Harris’s efforts to distinguish her record from Biden’s, by declaring that she “will not be silent about [the] humanitarian toll in Gaza,” and describing the scale of Palestinian suffering as “heartbreaking.” They also noticed her decision to absent herself during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress.

Israelis understandably know much less about the totality of Trump’s record in office than they do about his policies toward Israel. Most know that Democrats – including most American Jews – view Trump as a threat to democracy. However, many likely regard such claims, which are a staple of Israeli political discourse, as an ordinary feature of partisan political debate. They have also heard about Trump’s willingness to associate with – and occasionally wink at – antisemites and Holocaust deniers. They do not believe, however, that he is an antisemite himself, and they are far more distressed by antisemitism coming from the political left and often on display on US university campuses.

Most American Jews, on the other hand, have voted loyally for Democrats since Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Democratic party is their political tribe. They were huge supporters of Joe Biden in 2020, delivering 77% of their votes to the veteran Democratic party leader in that election. The exception is the Orthodox part of the community, which tilts heavily toward Trump and other Republican candidates.

During the 2024 election, American Jews consistently identified democracy and abortion rights as their top policy concerns. Many also mentioned Israel and antisemitism as issues that shaped their voting preferences. But above all, they believed Trump threatened the integrity, professionalism and independence of institutions that they rely upon. This includes everything from financial markets and schools to medicine, elections, science, and foreign policy.

After taking the baton from Biden, Harris ran a campaign that sought to reassure Jewish voters of her support for Israel. She orchestrated a convention that featured many prominent Jewish speakers and hostage families while denying a platform to pro-Palestinian speakers. She repeated often her support for Israel’s war aims, including the release of the hostages, and her commitment to continuing the Biden administration’s policies of massive military support (more than $22 billion since the start of the war). Doug Emhoff, Harris’s Jewish husband, led the Biden administration’s policy on antisemitism.

Harris’s positions on Israel, moreover, align with most American Jews, who support humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians, a deal to return the hostages, and a diplomatic initiative toward a two-state solution. Many Israeli Jews disagree with these policy preferences but most American Jews do not believe they express indifference toward Israel or a lack of support.

The two largest Jewish communities in the world have different political cultures. Israeli Jews are on the whole more conservative and religious. A year into a brutal war, they seek a superpower ally they believe will provide unqualified support. American Jews, in contrast, tend to be more liberal and secular, and prioritize a wide variety of issues alongside support for Israel.

These differences make the Israel-diaspora relationship especially challenging. The polling however can distort and exaggerate the differences. The view of the two communities turning away from one another can be misleading. In some respects the opposite is true. Israelis increasingly view the US-Israel alliance as indispensable. American Jews feel more connected to Israel than in decades, according to survey data.

Recognizing these nuances can attenuate if only a bit the stark differences that emerged in 2024 between the two great centers of Jewish life. Israeli and American Jews live in vastly different contexts and political cultures. Understanding what the election meant for each can go a long way in reducing feelings of alienation.